The Spider Queen

(Hidden Location- Underground City)

Sophie let out a heavy sigh as she leaned against the back of her bed with numerous thoughts running through her mind.

She could not help but think about what had just happened a few hours ago.

Somehow a simple trip to the museum had led to multiple assassination attempts on Cleo\'s life.

The hybrid girl turned on her communicator and checked the news on the Virtual Net to see if any reporters had covered the incident.

There was an article floating around about the incident at the transport hub, but it was not major news.

The problem with an interconnected network between the different colonies of the Federation was that news that only affected one planet would rarely go viral.

Still there were some comments underneath the article speculating about the incident.

Some said that it was a kidnapping attempt that had gone wrong while others left comments that were more conspiratorial.

Everything from a government cover up job to the return of the Draxi Empire… there was even someone who commented that planet Gaia was flat.

Sophie browsed through the comments but seeing that there really wasn\'t any useful information she closed the page and powered off her communicator.

The sounds of faint humming and water falling could be heard coming from behind the door that led to the bathroom.

Cleo was currently taking a shower and while Sophie was tempted to join her girlfriend in the bathtub, she decided to stay in bed.

She had already talked to her dad about the incident when they returned to the mansion, and he promised to look into the matter immediately.

It was unfortunate that the shadow guard who attacked them was dead but at least those strange red crystals had been collected.

Kry\'en crystals…

Sophie was vaguely aware that they were quite valuable but have never heard that they were dangerous or would pose a threat.

Unless they were fake…

Still, that was a question that the scientists in House Peterlor\'s private laboratory would have to answer because they were the ones investigating the crystals.

The hybrid girl played with her fingers as she replayed the events that had occurred in her mind for the umpteenth time.

There was one observation in particular that bothered her the most about the incidents that were targeted at Cleo.

If those individuals were on a mission to assassinate the princess, then why was in done in such an inefficient way?

Those crystals may have activated her danger sense, but it was high unlikely that they were more lethal than a plasma rifle, explosive device or even poison…

No… those crystals must have been for another purpose… but what?

Sophie furrowed her brows slightly as she felt as though she was on the verge of figuring out something, but the thought escaped her mind.

Maybe she should do some cultivating in order to calm down her anxious mood…

The hybrid girl got up from the bed and walked towards the training mat in the corner of her bedroom.

She sat down in a cross-legged position and closed her eyes. The amulet that hung from around her neck glowed slightly as Sophie focused on the qi flowing through her meridians.

In and out… breathe in…. and…. breathe out…

Sophie felt her heartbeat begin to slow down as she concentrated on her qi as it travelled through the pathways around her body.

She opened her eyes and found herself floating aimlessly in the dark void hidden inside her amulet.

The void was completely empty except for the massive stone tablet that appeared to be frozen in time in the middle of this strange place.

Sophie willed herself to move forward and her body began to travel towards the tablet inch by inch.

It was an incredibly slow process, but Sophie did not have a trace of impatience on her face.

She could feel the amount of liquid qi in her dantian increase with every second that she spent in the void.

The barrier between the qi tide stage and the void stage was a significant hurdle for most cultivators.

There were some who would remain in the qi tide stage for the rest of their life despite trying desperately.

Sophie knew that her cultivation journey had been quite smooth so far but even she could tell that something was stopping her from reaching the next level.

The hybrid girl looked around the space and to her surprise she saw the faint outlines of two figures in the far corner of the void.

They weren\'t there a moment ago…

The figures both appeared to be humanoid with six blade-like appendages jutting out of their backs.

The outlines were made from what appeared to be stardust and Sophie felt a mysterious connection to both figures that she could not describe.

Her feeling of connection was particularly strong to the figure on the right.

Sophie furrowed her brows slightly since she had never encountered something like this before.

She continued on her journey towards the stone tablet but could not shake off the curiosity in her heart as she occasionally glanced at the two figures.

Wait… the one on the left…

A memory surfaced in Sophie\'s mind, and she quickly realised that the body shape of the figure on the left matched perfectly with her aunt Rai\'lle.

The \'Spider Whisper Art\' was currently only being practiced by three members of the Arachnais Royal Family which meant that the figure on the right was…

"Mom?!" Sophie inadvertently exclaimed in shock as she willed her body to move quickly towards the mysterious figure.

The stone tablet was now completely forgotten as Sophie could only focus on the figure composed of stardust.

Princess Thai\'lle… the exiled royal… her mother…

Sophie didn\'t know how she felt as she approached the figure. There was equal parts excitement and nervousness in her heart.

Was there some kind of connection between those who practice \'The Spider Whisper Art\'?

Does this mean that it would be possible to make contact with her mother soon?

Sophie stretched out her hand towards the figure and her fingers trembled slightly.

There was no trace of a battle-hardened warrior in Sophie\'s demeaner, instead she appeared like a scared young girl who wanted to see her mom for the first time.

The hybrid girl took in a deep breath and then touched the figure. It felt warm to the touch almost as though she was touching skin.

Crack!

The void immediately shattered, and Sophie barely had any time to react before her consciousness was transferred to unknown location.